CREST Practitioner Security Analyst (CPSA) Practice

Which wireless security protocol is known to have significant vulnerabilities as it is not secure?

1. WPA

2. WEP

3. WPA2

4. TLS

The correct answer is: WEP

The identification of WEP as a wireless security protocol with significant vulnerabilities is rooted in its fundamental design flaws and the cryptographic weaknesses it employs. Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) was developed to provide a layer of security for wireless networks, but it has been proven to be inadequate against modern security threats. WEP uses a static encryption key that is shared among all users on the network. This makes it relatively easy for attackers to intercept and crack the key, particularly using various tools and techniques that exploit its weaknesses. The encryption method used in WEP, RC4, has known vulnerabilities that allow attackers to perform attacks such as packet sniffing and replay attacks, which compromise the confidentiality and integrity of the data being transmitted. Moreover, the key length in WEP is limited (typically 64 or 128 bits), which provides a smaller keyspace that can be brute-forced by attackers using readily available software in a short time frame. The lack of robust authentication mechanisms and the fact that WEP was never intended to be a long-term security solution further illustrate why it fails to meet the needs of secure wireless communications today. In contrast, the other options, such as WPA and WPA2, provide significantly improved security by incorporating stronger encryption methods and dynamic key management